The name Ikerd has gone through many changes and evolutionin spelling, the form now generally used being "Ikerd" and "Icard". Amongthe many renditions of the name that have been found are: Eiger, Igen,Ikerd, Eichert, Eikert, Eiger, Igert and others. In a deed, in the samehandwriting, the name is spelled differently on the same page. The firstIkerd connected with North Carolina, of whom I have been able to find anyrecord, was Michael Ikerd who came to America in 1740 in the same shipthat brought Simon Haus across the Atlantic and landed in Pennsylvania.While definite proof is not available, it is thought that he came toNorth Carolina with Simon Haus about the year 1747. If so, he was a manconsiderably advanced in years at the time, as one of his sons, a manwith considerable family, died in 1786. The possibility remains that hissons came alone, as we have no record of the time of place of MichaelIkerd's death. According to reliable information he had three sons inNorth Carolina, Jacob, Peter and Michael, Jr. No record of any daughters.Peter is the son who died in 1786, leaving a son Lowrence, or Lawrence,spelled Loritz Eiger in legal papers. Records exist of three sons ofLawrence Ikerd, David, and Peter Ikerd, Jr, Phillip. Peter Ikerd, Jr hada son George, who was the father of Abel Ikerd. Abel Ikerd's son, thelate Frank Ikerd, was the father of Clarence, George and Milt Ikerd, nowliving on a portion of the lands granted to his ancestors by King Georgethe Third. The pioneer Ikerd, whether Michael or one of his sons, settledabout two miles S.E. of Newton to the right oof Highway 321 just beforecrossing Bills Branch, once called Haus Branch. In the forest in the rearof the service station there (to the right of the road) may yet be foundthe depression in the earth, the remains of the cellar that works thesite of the pioneer Ikerd house. Across the road, in front of the oldReinhardt house, on the road leading by the present Grindstuff DairyFarm, is an old cemetery, now grown up in trees and bushes. A strangerwould never dream of a cemetery being there. Some year's ago, on a stonein that cemetery, could be deciphered the initials "M.E." and the date1807. In company with Mr Milt Ikerd, I recently visited this place andfound the head and foot rocks to only one grave. Single upright stonesindicated three other graves, while depressions in the earth fainted outthe location of a few more. Mr Ikerd informed me that he had always heardthat some of his ancestors were buried there and that when he was a boy,fifty years ago, stones were standing at forty or more graves. The crudemarkers have evidently been hauled away from this pioneer burying ground,probably for building purposes. The stone bearing the meager inscriptionis supposed to have marked the grave of Michael Ikerd, Jr. There islittle to guide us in attempting to learn who any of these pioneerIkerd's married, except that Lawrence Ikerd married Christina, daughterof Simon Haus. He was of the third generation from Michael Ikerd, beingthe son of Peter Ikerd who died in 1786. The only record I have found ofthe children of Lawrence and Christina Haus Ikerd is of three sons, Davidand Peter Ikerd Jr and Phillip. Mrs Clarence Haus Starr recalls that hergrandparents and aunts said the Ikerd and Haus families were closelyrelated by reason of marriage between members of the two families in theearly days of the country. Jacob Ikerd, son of Michael the pioneer,entered 400 acres of land, grant dated in 1764, on the upper waters ofPinch Gut creek, later known as the "Tips Place" and includes the farmwhere the late Frank Carpenter lived and operated a tannery during theCivil War. So far as I have been able to learn, no record exists of anygrant of land to Michael Ikerd. A number of old deeds are extrant showingthat the Ikerd's owned, bought and sold various bodies of land on ClarksCreek, Bills Branch, Pinch Gut and Maiden Creeks. The 400 acre entryabove was sold to Conrad Tippong, the Sourantie Frenchman who was buriedat the burying ground nearby, that came to the known as "Tip'sGraveyard". About the year 1820, during the time of the great migrationstream from North Carolina to western points, Lawrence Ikerd with hisfamily and probably others of his relatives, left North Carolina andsettled in Indiana. In 1816, he deeded a tract of 62 acres of land to hisson, David, who two years later, sold the tract to Daniel Propst,possibly, in anticipation of the contemplated removal. None of thesepeople ever returned to North Carolina, and their descendents still livein Indiana, Illinois and other of the central states. This son, David,married Katy Bisaner of the Ore Bank community in present Lincoln County,and with his family accompanied his father' family to Indiana. It isthought that the branch of the family living in Burke and Caldwellcounties, are descendants of Jacob Ikerd, a son of Pioneer Michael,though I have found no positive proof of this. As intermarriage causes somuch intermingling of the history of the Haus and Ikerd families, thefollowing observation might be pertinent here. It has been supposed thatSimon Haus came to North Carolina a single man and married after hisarrival, but the fact that Lawrence Ikerd married his daughter Christina,who according to records was born in 1759, is evidence that he brought afamily with him when he came in 1747. From the Pioneer, Michael, thegenealogical line runs throught Eight generations; Michael - Peter -Lawrence - Peter Jr - George - Abel - Frank - Milton the last now living.The federal census of 1790, gives the four Ikerd families living in NorthCarolina, all being in Lincoln County, as follow - Peter & wife - 3 sons,5 daughters; Henry and wife, 2 sons, 3 daughters; Lawrance & wife, 3sons, 1 daughter; George & wife - 2 sons. The three sons of Lawrenceevidently were, Peter Jr, David and Phillip and Peter Ikerd Jr was theancestor of the families living in the same community today, through hisson, George, etc. There was a younger George Ikerd than the 1790 George,who was a blacksmith and active aobut the years of 1840-45. In 1841, heswore to an account due him for blacksmith work for the amount of $6.451/4, before Henry Cline, J.P., and on August 14, 1840, he signed areceipt for $2.22 1/4 for blacksmith work to David Haus Adams estate ofJacob Seapaugh. Abel Ikerd, 6th in the line from pioneer Michael, and whodied somewhere near 1880 and was born in the early 1800's, is said tohave been a man of more than ordinary prominence and influence, andserved the county as county treasurer for more than twenty years. The wasalso a Justice of the Peace, was known as a well-informed man and onewhose opinions and advice was much sought. The home place where AbelIkerd lived and died is still in the possession of his descendents, beingnow owned and occupied by Mr. Everett Harris, a great granddaughter.

RESEARCHER: Carl E Ikard file. Letter 12 March 1974.[Ikard genealogy by unknown compiler dated 22 Feb 1965] PART II (p. 6) Ifwe can assume that the Peter Eiger who came to Catawba County, NC in the1740's was the grandfather of your ancestor, Anthony Ikard, then we mustlook further to discover where this Peter Eiger came from when he arrivedin NC. In a book entitled PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN PIONEERS by Strassburger &Hinke, compiled for the Pennsylvania German Society---Morristown, PApublished in 1934, we find lists of Germans who took the oath ofallegiance to the English King upon arrival in this country. No listswere examined after the date of 1773. Most of these Germans came from thePalatine area along the Rhine, and most were religious refugees(Protestants.) During the period from 1700 to 1776, the English werebusily recruiting settlers for their colonies in the New World. TheEnglish themselves sent hoards of their own people over here (mostlydebtors from their prison, etc.), but they also gathered up from thecontinent other people who would be willing to take allegiance to theEnglish king to get away from oppressive governments of their own. TheHoly Roman Empire (Germany) was breaking up during this period, and alongthe Rhine river there were several groups of Protestants from thePalatine area who were being persecuted for their religious faith. From asearch of these old records, I think whole families and sometimes wholevillages (or settlmenets) must have come over together. The English weremaking a good thing out of this, of course. Not only did these Germanshave to take an oath of allegiance to the English King, they had to comeover on an English ship, and in most instances, they had to pay their ownway. Most of these Germans were brought into the Port of Philadelphia,into William Penn's colony. Remember, these Germans could not speak aword of English, and the English couldn't speak German, nor could theypronounce or spell these German names. Therefore, you will findEicherdts, Ekerts, Echerds, Eckerts, Eckertts, etc. All pronounced Ikard.Mrs Soderberg found 13 of these names in the passenger lists and oath ofallegiance lists from 1727 through 1750. The trick is to find the one whocame to Catawba County, NC between 1740 and 1750. And if your ancestor isPeter Eiger, it would be fine if we could find a Peter Eiger listed inone of these lists. There are, unfortunately, several names which couldfit in here. There was a Johan Peter Echert who took his oath ofallegiance in Philadelphia in 1749. There is a Peter Eiker whose age isgiven as 41 when he took the oath in 1741. If this is the Peter Ikerd whodied in Catawba Co., NC, he would have been 84 years old---hardly likely.These two Peters have been ruled out in my mind as the Peter Eiger (PeterIkard) who died in Catawba Co. in 1784. There is listed also a PeterEiker, Jr. who took the oath in 1741. His age is not given, but since hecame over on the same boat as the Peter Eiker mentioned above (age 41) Ithink we can assume he is a son of this Peter Eiker. He had to be atleast 17 to be required to take the oath, which if the was the PeterIkerd who died in Catawba County in 1784 would make him 60 years or olderwhen he died. This is about right. I think. With this background, here iswhat the records show: From PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN PIONEER. Vol. 1. pages300-301-303. Arriving from Dover, England at the port of Philadelphia onthe English ship, "Lydia", (James Allen, Master) on date of September 29,1741 were a boatload of Palatine Germans, among whom were the following:Peter Eiker (age 41 Christian Eiker (age 19) Peter Eiker, Jr (no agegiven) Paulus Anthoni (age 22) Nobody bothered to register or require anoath from the women and children these men brought with them. So it isimpossible to tell whether any of these men were married. If Christianwas an older brother of Peter, Jr's, then Peter would have been about 17or 18 when he arrived on these shores. The book goes on to explain thatmany of the older men settled down in Pennsylvania, forming a part of thehuge German settlement which remains to this day in Pennsylvania. Most ofthe younger men moved on to other colonies, where they could more easilyacqurie land. We know that Simon Haas was the leader of a group of thesePennsyslvania-German settlers who moved to Catawba County in 1749. Listedamong the men who came to this county with Simon Haas are Peter Eiger andPaul Anthony (Paulus Anthoni?). This would be reasonable to assume,because both these young men came over on the same boat from the samepart of the world. I now call your attention to the fact that PeterIkerd's son, Laurenz (Laurence) married Simon Hass' daughter. Therefore,I think the young man, Peter Eiker, Jr who came over to this country withhis father (and mother?) on the "Lydia" in September, 1741, is the PeterIkerd who was the grandfather of Anthony Ikard, your ancestor. I reaslizethere are a lot of gaps and wide ones in this discussion. Searching theseold records is really a full time job, and fitting together bits andpieces of information to make a easonable analysis is alsotime-consuming. Much more needs to be done. For instance, this is just asmall thing, but it would be interesting to pursue. Although the totalnumbers of the Germans who came over on the boats are listed, only themen 17 or over were required to take the oath of allegiance. thus, a shiparriving would list--- 103 men, 72 women, and 87.6 (?!) children, andthen follows the lists of the men taking the oath. However in one placein Vol. III of this Pennsylvania book is listed. "Phillip Eckertt withSusanna and Margarette." Was Susanna his wife? His daughter? If hisdaughter, could she possibly have been the Susanna who was the wife ofPeter Ikerd, mentioned in his will? You see how one thing leads toanother in this endless search. I know that about all we have here is a"reasonable hypothesis" which can be used to check future informationagainst. ***[Data sheets compiled by the unknown genealogist, probablysame date as above .wei] PEDER EIGER (Peter Ikerd) Arrived inPhiladelphia on English boat "LYDIA" from the Palatine area along theRhine, Germany, on September 29, 1741. On this date he took the oat ofallegiance to the English King. On the same boat, and taking the oath onthe same day, were: 1. Christian Eiger, age 19 (Peder Eiger's son ?) 2.Paulus Anthoni, age 22 3. Peder Eiger, Jr (no age given, but he had to beat least 17 to be required to take the oath of allegiance, which he didon September 29, 1741.) In 1749, a group of Palatine Germans migratedfrom Philadelphia to Catawba Co., NC. This group was led by Simon Haas,and included, among other's Paul and Mary Anthony (Phronie?), Peder andSusanna Eiger and Christian Eiger. Checking dates carefully gives us theconclusion that the Peter Ikerd who moved to Catawba county in 1749 wasPeder Eiger, Jr. He would have been 25 or 26 by this time. (all the aboveinformation is documented.) THE FOLLOWING LINE IN CATAWBA COUNTY, NC WASESTABLISHED-- Peder Eiger (Ikerd m Susann Paulus Anthoni (Paul Anthony) mMary Euph_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | Henry LawrencePeter George Philip Polly Philip Abel b ca1750 | killed | in Rev. | 1775| | m c170/71 | -------------- | Anthony Ikerd b 15 May 1773 You willfind in the data collected by Mrs Soderberg complete records on Henry,Lawrence, Peter Jr. and Geroge Abel. Their births, marriages and deaths.That is--no records of their births, but of their children and theirchildren's children. Down through all these lines you will find manyintermarriages between the Ikards and the Anthonys-- at least until about1840. But nowhere in any of these records is there listed the marriage ofeither an Abel Ikard or a Phillip Ikard with a Polly Anthony. Of course,the records do not go bakc as far as 1773--that is--Mrs Soderberg didn'tfind any. Suggested further study: To find out if a Phillip Ikerd waskilled in the fighting with the militia around Lincoln County in 1775. Tofind out the name of his wife. to find out the name of his son, mentionedin Peter Ikerd's will. There WAS an Anthony Ikard who was the son ofGeorge Abel Ikard, but he lived too late to be your ancestor. I suggestthat Anthony Ikerd (grandson of Peter Ikrd) mentioned in his will as "sonof my son Phillip" waited until he was twenty years old (about 1793) thenwent to Franklin Co., TN (after collecting his twenty (crossed out -unable to read what was written in .wei) pounds from his uncle.) I thinkhe probably went with his uncles, the Anthonys, who got land grants therefrom serving in the Revolutionary War. Mrs Soderberg checked the FranklinCounty records---but I didn't ever get to them at the Library ofCongress, just didn't have the time. Additional study should be madethere to find out more about Anthony Ikerd's activities between about1795 and 1808 when he married Elizabeth Harrison--- who strangely enoughis called "Polly" also in some of the old records! PETER IKARD (pederEiger) m Susanna ?. In Philadelphia probably b. 1721 Palatine, German d.1784 Catawba Co., NC Records show this Ikard wa son the Committee ofSafety which met at New Bern in 1775 to take charge of Public affairs ofthe County. Five sons, as follows: documented in Will of Peter Ikerd 1784Philip. b about 1750 ?; d April 1775? There are absolutely no records onPhillip except his father's will. All of us who have studied theserecords think THIS was the father of Anthony Ikard found of your branchof the family. 2nd son--Henry b 1754 (census 1790); d 1800 (his will); mElizabeth (had MILLER, but crossed out .wei) b 1754. He served in theMilitia in 1775 with Philip Anthony and Rudolph Conrad) 4 children namedin will, as follows: Daniel m Barbara Nail (documented) Henry Jr, d 1872;m 1823 Catherine Miller (this much documented) Fanny Catherine 3rdson--Lawrence (Laurenz) b 1756 (census 1800) m Christine Haas b 1756(census 1800). 7 children listed in census--only 2 documented as follows:David m Dec 14, 1812 Sarah Bysinger. This family moved to Indiana in 1821and then to Illinois. Catherine m Dec 25, 1818 David Lutz, s/o Jacob Lutzand brother of Susie Lutz. 4th son--Peter Jr b 1758; d Jul 18, 1799; mBarbara Hiltibrand/Hildebrand? Documented in his will. He named 9children in his will, as follows: 1. John m Margaret Smith. Moved toIndiana in 1816. Had 10 ch: Peter, Michael, Elizabeth, Jesse A., Henryall documented in Indiana. 2. Peter Jr 3. Christopher 4. Michael 5.Catherine 6. Susanna 7. Elizabeth 8. Mary 9. Fanny Silvey Carpenter. Asnamed in will. 5th son--George Abel b 1764? m Polly _____ (could this bePolly Anthony??) Some of our historians think so--some don't. They arelisted as George A. and Polly Ikerd. In his will he is listed simply asGeorge. In the first censu he is listed as George A, in later censuseshis son is listed as George A Jr, then later just as Abel. Therefore, wecan assume that this boy's full name was George Abel. We know he was aminor when his father died in 1784. (see will). He is far too young to bethe father of OUR ANTHONY Ikard, born May 15, 1773. He is also too youngto have served in Revolutionary War 1775-76. 1790 Census lists 4 males, 3females in his household, no names. The following 4 children areducumented: Philip b 1789; m 21 Nov 1809 Susie Lutz. Moved to Indiana in1821, had 9 children. One documented in Indiana. Abel L Ikard** b 14 Sep1817 Catawba Co., NC; d IN; m 14 Jan 1844 Ann B. Campbell. 5 ch: Susan,John W, Samuel B, Philip, Abel C. **NOTE..After much checking andsearching and correspondence, we have ALMOST determined that it was adescendant of THIS Abel Ikard who inserted that erroneous information inthe D.A.R. magazine in 1920--100 years after Philip moved to Indiana. WeKNOW it was inserted in Indiana, and we think whoever did it got his"Philips" "Abels" etc. mixed up. This "Indiana" Philip had a brothernamed Anthony Ikard, and a brother named Abel, and a father named Abel.Just for your consideration. Elizabeth b 1800; m 1824 John Mauney(documented) Anthony Ikard m Ann Finger (see under George Ikerd-330 .wei)George Abel Jr m Susana Finger (see under George Ikerd-330 .wei)CONFLICT: Later information from Mae Ricketts counteract this aboveinformation ..wei Will of PETER EIGER (IKERD) (a copy of a certifiedcopy) NOTE: see above same .wei WRITE-UP by Carl . In 1750, a diary keptby a Palatine German coming to America -- goes on about the hardships toreach America, reads: "The Journey last from beginning of Ma to the endof October, fully half a year, amid such hardships as no one is able todescribe adequately with the misery. The Rhine river boats, say fromHeilbroun, Germany to Holland has to pass by 26 Custom houses, at all theboats or ships have to pass-by when it suits the convenience of theCustom house officials. The longer they are held, the more money thepassengers have to spend for the trip, usually takes from 4 to 10 weeksto clear all 26 custom houses, but at last at Holland -- then detainedagain, making you spend more of your money. But at last we get atRottendam, Holland -- where most of the Rhine Germans board ships toEngland pots. We were 8 weeks clearing 22 Custom houses and at Hollandbefore crossing over to Cowes, England. Cowes and Deal, England are thetwo ports most used for the trip to the New world. But more delay inEngland, spending more of my to live, and getting supplies for the tripacross. We were in England 7 weeks, but once aboard --- the misery beyond--- unless a good wind, for it was 8 to 12 weeks of sailing to land. Wewere 9 weeks and 4 days, to land at Philadelphia, PA. The ocean voyageproper was marked with much suffering and hardships -- packed densely,lot of people without proper food and water, all kinds of disease --which begin to tell on the children first and a very large number died,and toss to sea. I counted 32 deaths on this trip, mostly children andvery old people. When the Delaware River was reached, another delayoccured -- a doctor or health official had to visit each ship and if adisease if found, the ship has to remove back to sea till all is clear.We did not have a disease aboard, so dock, and then taken ashore toanother doctor to be examined, then take to the city hall and there werender the Oath of allegiance to the King of England again, and to thecolony. Then we were brought back to the ship --- those who had paidtheir fare over and did not owe the ship-store, were released, the otherhelt. I waited up for a friend -- who I thought had paid, but he hadn't,and I was too broke to help him then. Those helted, became a market place-- buyers made their choice among the arrivals and bargain with them fora certain number of days and years of work. When bargains was complete --both were taken to the ship-owner and buyer paid the passage and otherdebts, and received a written document from the govern authorities, whichmakes the newcomer their property of slave for a definite period. I couldnot locate near my friend -- who had to slave for two years, so I said my'Goodbye', and moved on to some land that I found after couple days oflooking things over. It being almost fall, when we arrived, we had ahardship of winter, but the Germany Reform Church people were good and wemade it to this New and Free Country. We know that Simon Haas was aleader of a group of these Pennsylvania-Germans settlers, who moved toBurke and Catawba Co., NC in 1749, and listed among them is our PederEIGER and Paulus ANTHONI. The EIKER had become EIGER in the differspelling - some on the same page of documents by this 1749 period. Someof the NC IKERD's think that the branch of the family living in Burke andCaldwell Counties, NC in the late 1700's were descendants of Jacob EIGER.But my research has led me to believe that Jacob EIGER is a descendant ofman named AKER -- over about 1743. Jacob though could be a son of MichaelEIGER (finally spelling), but to this day, the AKER, AIKER, IKER, andothers, claim Michael and Jacob as two of their forefathers. There arereferences to other later immigrants with similar names in New Jersey andPennsylvania -- but I have not researched them. There is no validity tosuggestions that one spelling was preferred by the more educated membersof a family over another. It seems that these humble German pioneer letthe educated folks in charge of the different post do the spelling forthem until the early 1800's at least. Carl's Write-up "Chapter III, THEFIRST GENERATION" {mostly same information as above .wei} Pedigreechart-- 8. Peder Eiger Jr b ca 1721 Germany; d ca 1784 Catawba/LincolnCo., NC 9. Susanna 16. Peder Eiger b Germany

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